The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Jazz

by Loren Schoenberg

Book Overview

A concise history of jazz The noteworthy composers and musicians, from Jelly Roll Morton and Thelonious Monk to Miles Davis and Charles Mingus Major performers from Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald to Nat King Cole and Duke Ellington Classic songs and compositions The most influential recordings of all time A complete guide to jazz terminology and lingo Valuable resources for the Curious Listener

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 039952794X
• ISBN13: 9780399527944
• Release Date: August 2002
• Publisher: Tarcherperigee
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A good place to start

This is a compact, reader-friendly guide -- a good entry point into what is becoming a dauntingly large literature of jazz. Some sections are set up like a reference book, with alphabetized entries, making this a keeper for looking things up in future. Others provide good topical overviews. I recommend this book to students in my introductory "Evolution of Jazz" course. One quibble: no entry for "mainstream jazz."